Michigan Scores Quickly, Often in Blasting Northwestern, 59-14

Michigan scored three touchdowns on its first seven plays, the first two coming only two minutes apart, in blasting Northwestern, 59-14, in the Big Ten Saturday.

Desmond Howard scored on Michigan’s first play and finished with 201 all-purpose yards as the No. 4 Wolverines, 8-1 overall and 6-0 in the Big Ten, stayed on track for the Rose Bowl.

Howard took a short pass from Elvis Grbac, slipped a tackle and turned it into a 64-yard touchdown on Michigan’s first play. The screen to Howard set the tempo for a game in which the Wolverines rolled up 627 yards to 344 for Northwestern (3-6, 2-4).

After a blocked punt, Ricky Powers broke off tackle for 36 yards, then scored on a two-yard run on the next play.

The Wildcats fumbled two plays later, and Michigan went 37 yards in four plays with Powers scoring from the six. A 50-yard field goal by J.D. Carlson with 16 seconds left in the quarter gave Michigan a 24-7 lead and a school record for points in a first quarter. The old mark was 23 in a 1976 game against Wisconsin.

Michigan finishes with Big Ten games against Illinois and Ohio State. A victory in either gets the Wolverines into the Rose Bowl.